VP Nguyen Receives NSF CAREER Award to Develop Wearable Brain Monitors for Neurological Health

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Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences (CICS) Professor VP Nguyen has received a $686,250 National Science Foundation CAREER Award to develop brain monitors that could be integrated into headphones or smart glasses, in an effort to expand how neurological conditions are detected and managed. By continuously collecting data on brain activity in everyday settings, the devices could help clinicians identify and monitor conditions such as seizures, sleep disorders, and Alzheimer's disease more effectively.  

“To understand what is happening in someone's brain today, a patient usually spends days in a hospital, wired to bulky equipment, waiting to capture an event like a seizure,” Nguyen said. “It is uncomfortable, expensive, and it records only a short and artificial slice of a person’s life.” If the event clinicians are trying to observe does not occur during the monitoring period, they may come away with limited data. 

Nguyen aims to change that by developing wearable devices capable of tracking physiological signals continuously during everyday life and over periods of months, giving clinicians a broader view of a patient’s neurological activity.  

Nguyen’s monitors employ neuromorphic computing, a new generation of brain-inspired chips small enough for wearables. The tech mimics how the brain processes information, activating only when meaningful signals occur rather than continuously consuming power. 

“Processing this kind of data in real time normally drains a battery within hours, and sending it off to the cloud to make a decision adds delay that matters when you are trying to catch a seizure as it happens,” he said. “We solve both by designing computing that works the way the brain does, staying quiet until something meaningful happens.” 

The technology can be incorporated into everyday head-worn devices such as earbuds, headphones, and smart glasses. Sensors positioned around the ear or forehead collect neural signals and transmit them to a mobile app for analysis. “The key idea is to measure signals around the head using head-worn systems, since they are close to signals that are not available elsewhere on the human body,” Nguyen said.   

The project also introduces a new electrode design that helps maintain a stable environment at the skin's surface, improving signal quality and long-term comfort. Combined with compact AI algorithms that separate neural activity from other bodily signals, the system can analyze data using only a fraction of the energy required by conventional computing approaches. 

Ultimately, the monitor will enable “continuous, comfortable physiological monitoring in everyday life,” Nguyen said. “That means catching seizures, or warning of them before they happen, so a person or caregiver can prepare. It means spotting early signs of Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline sooner than a clinic visit would. And because the device makes the urgent decisions on its own, and only sends a compressed signal to the phone for longer-range forecasting, this can work with real-time responsiveness and privacy.” 

Nguyen is collaborating with industry and national labs to create and test the brain-activity monitors for clinical use. Clinical partners include UMass Chan Medical School. 

The NSF CAREER Award is among the foundation's most prestigious awards supporting early-career faculty who demonstrate the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education.